Published: Sunday, August 4, 2013 at 12:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, August 2, 2013 at 3:58 p.m.

Nearly every Tuesday night, Lee Pearson presides over dozens of dancers as they line-dance, shag, glide and twirl on a wooden dance floor inside a dimly-lit Market Street lounge.

The disc jockey and Wilmington resident has spun dance tunes at the Carolina Lounge at the Ramada Inn (known previously by other names) for more than 20 years. But he's been a DJ for three decades.

In a way, the 66-year-old's journey to playing music for dancing crowds began when he was a child.

"I started collecting records at 11, vinyl," Pearson said.

At that time, he said, it wasn't always easy to get the rhythm and blues songs he enjoyed.

"I had a transistor six radio that cost me $79 – they were that expensive at the time. You could put it under your pillow at night and it would pick up Randy's Record Shop (one of the sponsors of the radio station WLAC) out of Nashville, Tenn., which played all rhythm and blues and all black artists."

When he heard a song he liked, he would go to the record stores in town, especially one considered the "black" record store on Castle Street, to buy the record. At a different record store, the shopkeeper would keep the rhythm and blues records under the counter, in part because they were considered too sexual (songs such as "60-minute Man," for example) for the ears of young people.

It became a kind of underground market for those who wanted to own the music.

"It was not unusual to pay $50 for a single," Pearson said.

In high school, his friends would tell him to bring his record box to the party.

"Later in college, it was, ‘Bring your reel-to-reel to the party.' I'd put all my records on reel-to-reels then," Pearson said. "I didn't get paid for it. And then I finally figured out if I'm going to haul all this music that I paid a fortune for to these parties, maybe I ought to get paid for it."

Pearson, who also works as a mortgage broker, developed a knack for DJing.

"He knows what he's doing," said Dale Thompson Jr., who's been dancing at the Carolina Lounge off and on for more than 20 years. "He goes with what the crowd wants. You can't please everybody, but he pleases the majority of them."

These days, Pearson owns between 8,000 and 10,000 records as well as thousands of other songs in various forms of media. In addition to working at the Carolina Lounge, he also DJs on Sunday afternoons and other times at the Boardwalk on Front, a new venue at 15 S. Front St. in downtown Wilmington; for dances at the American Legion and the First Baptist Church Activity Center; and at weddings and other private engagements, among other places.

But his main passion seems to be bringing beach and shag music to the public. The shag, which didn't become known as the shag right away, Pearson said, began to take hold in a big way in dance halls after World War II. It was known as "fast dancing," said Brad White, one of the instructors who teaches basic shag steps at the Carolina Lounge, where people can pay $6 to learn and dance each Tuesday night.

"In the old days, there weren't any lessons," Pearson said. "You just copied what people were doing, or tried to."

Pearson started dancing the "beach bop," another of shag's early names, at the same time he started collecting vinyl. His wife of 35 years, Helen, dances with him these days and was familiar with the shag from childhood. Her stepbrother, Danny Lanier, was inducted into the Atlantic Beach Shaggers Hall of Fame in 2004.

"She was very familiar with the dance, and she's a good dancer," Pearson said. "We're not pros, but we have a good time with it."

She doesn't attend all his functions after being called a "DJ groupie" at a function 30 years ago, Pearson said, laughing.

He has two children from his first marriage and two with Helen, ranging in age from 18 to 42. While none of them are all that interested in shag and beach music, Pearson said he's seen an upswing recently in the dance among people in their teens and 20s.

"The last resurgence of that music into the lifestyle of college kids was '78 to '82," Pearson said. "Whenever things get preppy, the music comes back to the young people."

He hopes that resurgence continues.

"I love the music and I love to try to keep the dance alive," Pearson said. "My whole goal is to try to get the young people back into it again."

<p>Nearly every Tuesday night, Lee Pearson presides over dozens of dancers as they line-dance, shag, glide and twirl on a wooden dance floor inside a dimly-lit Market Street lounge.</p><p>The disc jockey and Wilmington resident has spun dance tunes at the Carolina Lounge at the Ramada Inn (known previously by other names) for more than 20 years. But he's been a DJ for three decades. </p><p>In a way, the 66-year-old's journey to playing music for dancing crowds began when he was a child.</p><p>"I started collecting records at 11, vinyl," Pearson said. </p><p>At that time, he said, it wasn't always easy to get the rhythm and blues songs he enjoyed.</p><p>"I had a transistor six radio that cost me $79 – they were that expensive at the time. You could put it under your pillow at night and it would pick up Randy's Record Shop (one of the sponsors of the radio station WLAC) out of Nashville, Tenn., which played all rhythm and blues and all black artists."</p><p>When he heard a song he liked, he would go to the record stores in town, especially one considered the "black" record store on Castle Street, to buy the record. At a different record store, the shopkeeper would keep the rhythm and blues records under the counter, in part because they were considered too sexual (songs such as "60-minute Man," for example) for the ears of young people.</p><p>It became a kind of underground market for those who wanted to own the music. </p><p>"It was not unusual to pay $50 for a single," Pearson said.</p><p>In high school, his friends would tell him to bring his record box to the party.</p><p>"Later in college, it was, 'Bring your reel-to-reel to the party.' I'd put all my records on reel-to-reels then," Pearson said. "I didn't get paid for it. And then I finally figured out if I'm going to haul all this music that I paid a fortune for to these parties, maybe I ought to get paid for it."</p><p>Pearson, who also works as a mortgage broker, developed a knack for DJing.</p><p>"He knows what he's doing," said Dale Thompson Jr., who's been dancing at the Carolina Lounge off and on for more than 20 years. "He goes with what the crowd wants. You can't please everybody, but he pleases the majority of them."</p><p>These days, Pearson owns between 8,000 and 10,000 records as well as thousands of other songs in various forms of media. In addition to working at the Carolina Lounge, he also DJs on Sunday afternoons and other times at the Boardwalk on Front, a new venue at 15 S. Front St. in downtown Wilmington; for dances at the American Legion and the First Baptist Church Activity Center; and at weddings and other private engagements, among other places.</p><p>But his main passion seems to be bringing beach and shag music to the public. The shag, which didn't become known as the shag right away, Pearson said, began to take hold in a big way in dance halls after World War II. It was known as "fast dancing," said Brad White, one of the instructors who teaches basic shag steps at the Carolina Lounge, where people can pay $6 to learn and dance each Tuesday night.</p><p>"In the old days, there weren't any lessons," Pearson said. "You just copied what people were doing, or tried to." </p><p>Pearson started dancing the "beach bop," another of shag's early names, at the same time he started collecting vinyl. His wife of 35 years, Helen, dances with him these days and was familiar with the shag from childhood. Her stepbrother, Danny Lanier, was inducted into the Atlantic Beach Shaggers Hall of Fame in 2004. </p><p>"She was very familiar with the dance, and she's a good dancer," Pearson said. "We're not pros, but we have a good time with it."</p><p>She doesn't attend all his functions after being called a "DJ groupie" at a function 30 years ago, Pearson said, laughing.</p><p>He has two children from his first marriage and two with Helen, ranging in age from 18 to 42. While none of them are all that interested in shag and beach music, Pearson said he's seen an upswing recently in the dance among people in their teens and 20s.</p><p>"The last resurgence of that music into the lifestyle of college kids was '78 to '82," Pearson said. "Whenever things get preppy, the music comes back to the young people." </p><p>He hopes that resurgence continues.</p><p>"I love the music and I love to try to keep the dance alive," Pearson said. "My whole goal is to try to get the young people back into it again."</p><p>Cece Nunn: 343-2310</p>